Thoracic (Chest) Trauma
- #1 Cause of Accidental Death
- Thoracic trauma comprises 20–25% of all traumas worldwide
- 25%-35% of trauma-related mortality and is a contributing factor
in another 25% of such cases - > 17MM Cases/Year Worldwide (World Health Orginization)
- 9%-20% of all Injury Cases in the Army
- Main Types of Thoracic Trauma: Blunt (motor vehicle collisions, falls) and Penetrating (stabbing, gun shots)
Fatal, if not immediately identified, treated and reassessed for effective management in hospital
Golden Hour: a casualty has a 80% chance of survival if he/she is evacuated to suitable medical facility within 1 hour
80% of cases are definitively managed with tube thoracostomy
However common difficulties in treatment include:
1. Operator depended procedure – highly skilled physician
2. Very limited in pre-hospital/Ambulance services
3. Time consuming – Risk losing the Golden Hour to save lives
4. Challenging suture fixation
5. Tube Occlusion: kinking, angulation, clot ,debris, or lung tissue
6. Chest Drain Dislodgement
7. Air Leakage
8. Infections